Bolton School in elite list of country’s top schools
1:20pm Friday 4th January 2013 in News
BOLTON School Boys’ Division has been identified as being among the top 100 schools for producing some of the country’s top figures.
The school has been highlighted in an influential report for the numbers of former pupils who are part of the professional elite.
The report was compiled the Sutton Trust which looked at the educational backgrounds of nearly 8,000 people.
Bolton School Boys’ Division — which appeared in the same table as Eton College — produced 12 leading figures.
Top was Eton which produced 330.
Philip Britton, headmaster of the boys’ division, said: “It is uplifting to see how Old Boys attending Bolton School have done well for themselves, often built on the attitudes they learned at school.
“When I meet them it always strikes me that their interests are often the same now as those that are on their school reports. It is good for Bolton School and for Bolton that we have this input into national life.”
He added: “It is not just Old Boys either — Baroness Trish Morris also sits in the House of Lords and Dame Janet Smith is a prominent judge.”
The Sutton Trust was founded in 1997 to improve “social mobility” and address educational disadvantage.
Its report found that although independent schools account for only seven per cent of all school places, 44 per cent of leading people went to a private school and only 21 per cent to comprehensives and other state schools.
Mr Britton said: “The Sutton Trust Report has in some quarters been hailed as presenting facts that in some way are bad.
“I would suggest there can be few better examples of social mobility than the influence of these Bolton boys in national life.
“It is striking so many went through the school from ordinary backgrounds and that is why we strive to continuously build our bursary funds to maintain open access to the school for a good cross section of society.”
Comments(6)
Chrome1
says...
11:27am Fri 4 Jan 13
My son goes there and is in the final year of high school (Y11). In my experience Bolton School provide a jaw dropping all round education and development for the child. The ambience of the school is very welcoming and inclusive. There is no snobbery but they maintain a high standard of conduct and behaviour. I know it's fee paying, but I'd rather my child went here than the crap that is passed for schools in Bolton. I was a governor at one of the state high schools and it is utterly tragic that our children attend these schools. The teachers are just as bad as the pupils and most of them have the typical public-sector mentality.
I am not surprised Bolton School is highly rated. I can see what they are doing right. They are by no means perfect but when it comes to my child's education I would send him to Bolton School many times over.
They also have a generous bursary scheme that gives opportunity for the less well off; so elitist they are not. The kids are treated with respect and they come home with some vestige of achievement.
Well done Mr Britton, and I hope I can shake your hand in person very soon.
Don Kiddick
says...
6:08pm Fri 4 Jan 13
watchingbolton wrote:And what's wrong with that? What's the point of having some of the best teachers in the country teaching beauticians and van drivers?
The only pupils that Bolton School teachers are interested in are the ones going to Oxbridge and going to do Medicine or Dentistry. Other students are there just to make up the numbers and pay the fees.
AJG1
says...
7:35pm Fri 4 Jan 13
Also, it depends upon one's definition of "the country's top figures". If you asked 100 people to define this you would receive nearly 100 different answers so it is all somewhat subjective. The people I would place at the top of the list are unlikely to be on anyone else's
It is good news for the School though, especially if it aids others to know about B S when I mention it by name
aardwolf
says...
7:41pm Fri 4 Jan 13
jenberts
says...
5:22am Mon 7 Jan 13
Just about says it all really ..
watchingbolton says...
10:33am Fri 4 Jan 13